UHCL Freshmen Bloggers

Tag Archives: #FinalExams

Well, turkey break is over and it’s time to go back to reality. Time to face our finals and start studying hardcore. That turkey break wasn’t enough for me mostly because I procrastinated the whole week. Just when I thought I had gotten better at avoiding procrastinating too. Even though I didn’t get any work done during the break, I did get to reunite with my family. Family that I have not seen in many years showed up on Thanksgiving Day. It was amazing to see how happy everyone was. I did not get a full week of vacation like I used to in high school, but I don’t really mind since the semester is almost over. I still cannot believe that in one week classes are done.

This will be my last blog for the semester, Hawks. It’s a sad day, USA. It’s pretty insane how fast time flies. I have noticed that as I grow older time starts to go by faster. I hate time. I wish I could savor each moment of my life longer. I feel as if the semester has just started and now it’s almost over. I can still remember being in fifth grade. That was one of the best years of my life because I got my first girlfriend. Well, if you count sharing fruit snacks and holding hands for two days. Sounds like kindergarten love. I don’t want to grow up anymore.

College is hard and it’s only going to get harder, which is why I have to strive for the best. Being a first generation college student is really hard, and unfortunately my family hardly shows support. They don’t know how big of a deal it is to be a college student. They showed support the first couple of days when I got accepted into college but other than that not much. I really do need encouragement to keep going. Family is what keeps us fueled. Other than that my semester at UHCL has been outstanding. All the new people I met and all the wonderful activities I enjoyed were wonderful. Being a Hawk is the best thing I could have done right in life. I will never forget all the experiences I am experiencing at UHCL. They are some of the best in my life. I’m kept busy all the time and that’s a good thing. It keeps me from watching TV shows on Netflix. Finals are around the corner and I should stop distracting myself from studying.

Well, that’s it for this week, Hawks. Hope you all are studying because finals are coming up and they really know how to throw a punch. So get your gloves ready to challenge finals. Study, study, study! And don’t forget to catch up on sleep!

I’m still stuffed from all the turkey I ate. I was born in Brownsville, Texas and my immediate family resides there, so my mother and I took a trip there for the holidays. We left Wednesday morning and I was so relieved to take time off from school. I knew I should have completed a few assignments while I was on my trip to avoid procrastination, but I was enjoying doing absolutely nothing! It was great being around my family and out of the city. No traffic, lots of family gossip, endless food, and Black Friday! We had a bacon-wrapped turkey. Yes, a bacon-wrapped turkey! Mash potatoes with gravy, macaroni with cheese, roasted ham, macaroni salad, corn on the cob, pineapple upside down cake and pumpkin pie. My cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents all came together, held hands, and said grace. It was great feeling everyone’s energy and eating such delicious foods with the people I love the most. I hadn’t visited my hometown in two years so it was quite shocking seeing my younger cousin Katherine and Isaac taller than me. I guess I should not be that surprised since I am only five feet tall. As the week passed, I grew even more sedentary. When I arrived back in Houston Saturday morning, I had no motivation to complete the homework I had assigned myself for the day. I shouldn’t have gone on such a long vacation because now I have to force myself into the way of things again. But on the other hand, I’m so happy this semester is coming to an end because I can do nothing all day. I will be able to relax my mind for a month, but I decided I will dedicate my time to volunteering. It’s the least I could do for my community and I am really looking forward to it. 🙂

I have one final exam this week and all I plan to do this week is study, study, and oh study some more. Looking forward to my final’s care package from the Hawk Leadership Institute. Wish you all luck on finals!

Upcoming events @ UHCL:

Toy Donations: Through Dec. 5, drop-offs in the Student Life Office is SSCB. New, unwrapped toys!

Welcome back fellow Hawks! This past week has been a rollercoaster for me. This stress has broken my scale. It is literally up to the moon and back. I know before I have said that I was stressed, but this is just on a whole other level. Knowing that I have to study for so many exams is torture. To make it even worse, most of these finals make up a huge chunk of my grade.

I was looking forward to Thanksgiving, but knowing that I will have to study brings me down. I’m still going to eat the turkey no doubt about that. Doing all this work during the week really makes me hungry. I started eating a lot of Cheetos and candy so that I don’t get bored whenever I do homework. My mom literally started throwing away my snacks. She didn’t care if they were opened or not. My mother never liked me eating junk food to begin with. This kind of was one of my lows for the week. I was craving the bag of Hot Cheetos Puffs and I had bought them, but to my surprise when I got home they mysteriously disappeared. I knew this was my mom’s dirty work. It may seem like she is being mean, but in reality she is only looking out for my health. Although, maybe she could at least leave one bag of chips in my room. I need to start hiding them better. My textbooks don’t do a very good job of hiding bags of chips. They’re almost done with me. As the semester ends, so will the relationship with my current textbooks. It is a bittersweet feeling.

This past Saturday was our second orientation leader training. Seeing how much everyone has bonded is the best feeling to see. We did a variety of activities very different to our first training. I thought this one was actually more fun. We had many great guest speakers including President Staples and Paula Mendez.

Dr. Staples gave a great speech on his childhood and how growing up he was expected to go to college. As for Regent Mendez, she was quite the opposite. She discussed her childhood and how she was barely aiming to get her high school diploma. She’s the first generation to go to college and discussed the struggles she faced. Many of the audience could relate to her story, myself included. Being a first time student to go to college was difficult. Trying to get the answers is probably the hardest thing to do. Once I had all the answers, everything else just fit into place.

Well that is it for this week Hawks! Be sure to gobble up as much turkey as you can. I know I will eat all the turkey even if I have to study. Until next week. Stay warm!

Wow! We are finally on the 14-week of school. I can’t stress how fast it has gone. I’m only 18 years old, but the thought of being a year older is frightening to me because I know it will be time to branch out on my own. How does someone prepare for that? I’m so grateful for parents. I don’t know where I would be if they weren’t by my side. Seeing my grandma in the hospital recovering from heart surgery really affected my perspectives on life and with my own health. I began to think of my parents being on the hospital bed, and it shook me to my core. I stood for a few moments of silence and listened to the rhythm of heart. I began to thank the universe repeatedly for my parents and my health. Life is too short for negative energy.

The Hawk Leadership Institute celebrated their Fall Social this past Friday. I was glad to come together with the whole group and spend time with one another. We began with Pictionary and ended with Guesstures. It was friendly competition and I really enjoyed getting to relax after such a long semester. HLI hasn’t really got together as a group since the beginning of the semester, but Jennifer Clark, assistant director of student life, assured us we will be engaging in plenty group activities next semester. I love the energy I feel when I’m around my peers because I know we have similar mindsets. I used to believe everyone wanted to be a leader, but after experiencing college and meeting others I’ve learned not everyone does. At first, I couldn’t wrap my head around it. It was a big deal when we applied for HLI and took the first step to learn more of our leadership potential since some decide to never take that step. I also want to point out I had two slices of pizza, a slice of pumpkin pie, three brownies and a cup of ice cream that night. I did not regret any of it! It was a great night and I’m happy to have been a member.

My fellow freshmen: please don’t wait until the last minute to study for finals. I’m sure many of you already received reviews. Take advantage! I’ve already begun on my finals, have you? Let’s save energy and reduce stress you guys. Check out these study tips. Please do not procrastinate.

I love the fact we always have some sort of events at UHCL. Here are some events to look forward to:

Bay Area Turning Point, Inc. Donation Drive: Ending December 10. Drop off location is located in the Student Lounge in SSCB. You can donate clothing, toys, kitchen utensils, cleaning supplies, children/infant fever medication, prenatal vitamins or a first aid kit.